The invention concerns hair treating compositions and their methods of use and, more specifically, compositions and methods for the same-day waving (also known as "permanent waving" or "perming") and coloring (also known as "dyeing" or "tinting") of hair.
Hair treating compositions and methods for treating hair have been used for many years. Compositions used include coating compositions to hold hair in a particular manner and compositions to improve hair strength, shine, color, arrangement, or other properties or to prevent or repair damage to hair. Current popular hair treatments include permanent waving and hair coloring, both of which involve chemical treatments that tend to damage hair.
There are numerous methods and compositions for permanent waving, which involves arranging the hair in the desired configuration and then treating the hair to semi-permanently retain the arrangement. (As used herein, the term "waving" should be understood to include both curling and straightening.) The initial step is a waving step in which the hair is "relaxed" by breaking the disulfide bonds in the keratin of the hair using a reducing agent. Compositions used to break those bonds include solutions of thioglycolic acid (at pH 8.5-9.5 if an alkaline wave or pH 6.5-6.95 if an acid wave) or a sulfite/bisulfite solution (at pH 5.5-8.5) containing alkalis such as alkali metal compounds, ammonium hydroxide, or amines (e.g., monoethanolamine) to provide the alkaline pH. After reducing or breaking the keratin's disulfide bonds, the hair is fixed in the desired arrangement using an oxidizing agent (e.g., hydrogen peroxide or sodium bromate) to reestablish disulfide bonds in the keratin.
The reduction within the hair fiber is of the amino acid cystine, which contains a centrally located disulfide bond. When this bond in a cystine molecule is cleaved using the reducing solution (usually called the "waving solution"), the cystine molecule forms two molecules of the amino acid cysteine, each having a terminal sulfhydryl group resulting from the disulfide cleavage.
If the hair is to be curled, the hair is typically rolled onto rods of various sizes, contacted with the reducing (or waving) solution, and permitted to remain in contact with the solution until the required amount of reduction has occurred. Typically, the at-least-partially-spent reducing solution or lotion is thoroughly rinsed from the hair, the hair is towel dried, and the neutralizer (oxidizing composition) is applied. The neutralizer reoxidizes the sulfhydryl groups to disulfide groups to fix the hair in the new arrangement. If curls are required, the hair is neutralized while still on the rods. Hair may also be straightened, i.e., the natural curl removed from the hair, in which case the hair is combed while in contact with the reducing solution and then combed while the neutralizer or oxidizing solution is applied. In either case (curling or straightening), the procedure is completed by rinsing the neutralizer (oxidizer) from the hair. It is usually recommended that hair not be shampooed for at least 24 hours after the permanent waving procedure to provide the tightest curl or straightest hair, as the case may be, because even after removal of the oxidizing solution from the surface of the hair, reaction within the hair (i.e., reformation of disulfide bonds) continues.
The typical waving process requires a rinsing step between the application of the reducing solution and the application of the oxidizing (neutralizing) solution. This intermediate rinse is widely thought to be needed to remove as much of the reducing solution as possible from the hair because the pH of the reducing solution is usually higher than that of the oxidizing solution and if left on the hair in any significant amount, the reducing solution would react with a significant amount of the oxidizing (neutralizing) solution and reduce the latter's effectiveness, especially in the hair fibers into which the oxidizing solution had poorly penetrated. The failure to reform enough disulfide bonds, e.g., if the neutralizer were not sufficiently effective (as would be the case if the reducing solution left on the hair significantly reduced the efficacy of the neutralizer), is highly undesirable because the resulting hair will have poor curl and tend to be straw-like, brittle, feel rough, etc. Hence, the generally recognized need for the intermediate rinse.
On the other hand, it would be desirable to eliminate the intermediate rinse, that is, to use a "rinse-free waving process," because the rinsing step: causes loss of keratin, amino acids, and color from the hair fiber; causes physical damage to the cuticle and cortex of the hair because of the pressurized water jets typically used in hair salons during rinsing; utilizes approximately nine gallons of water with every permanent; is time-consuming, thereby reducing the number of permanent wave customers a hair salon can service per day; and causes swelling of the fiber over and above that caused by the waving lotion. The damage caused by excessive swelling is generally irreversible.
A product marketed under the name PRO-IONIC QUENCH.TM. from Pro-Design International is said to be useful in a rinse-free waving process in which two different solutions are applied to the hair after waving and blotting and before neutralization. The first solution is believed to have a pH of about 8.3, to contain a bicarbonate salt, and to have only about 5 parts per million of magnesium. The second solution is believed to have a pH of about 2.4 and to contain about 4.5% magnesium sulfate, some citric acid or sodium citrate, and some HYDROTRITICUM (which contains about 1.8% cystine).
It is known that the best time to place hair strengthening agents into the cortex of the hair is after the waving solution has swollen the fiber, which swelling opens the cortex, and before the neutralizer deswells or shrinks the fiber. It is also known that it is desirable to protect the cuticle and cortex of the hair from the damaging effects of the neutralizer solution.
There are many different methods and compositions for coloring hair. Some methods merely apply the colorant to the outside of the hair, but in such cases the colorant can usually be easily removed (e.g., washed out) from the hair. Many different kinds of dyes that penetrate the hair and that are said to react in the hair and/or with the constituents of the hair have also been used. One class of colorants are the oxidative dyes, which are generally applied to the hair along with a developer or oxidizing agent (typically hydrogen peroxide).
There have been a number of attempts to provide compositions and processes that would allow same-day waving and coloring of hair (by "same-day" is meant waving and coloring processing of the hair occurring within a single twenty-four hour period and preferably during one session, a session typically lasting not more than about six hours). See, e.g., U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/310,270, filed Sep. 24, 1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,635,168, by Michael S. Burns (the present inventor) and Herbert E. Edelstein, and PCT Patent Application No. PCT/US95/11649, published under Publication No. WO 96/09030 on Mar. 28, 1996, which corresponds thereto; U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,368,941; 3,396,736; 3,399,682; 4,630,621; 4,776,856; 4,992,077; 5,006,127; 5,094,662; 5,161,553; 5,188,639; 5,340,367; EP 0 260 716; EP 0 328 816; EP 0 352 375; JP Kokai No. 96336-1978; and W. A. Poucher (revised by G. M. Howard), Perfumes, Cosmetics and Soaps, volume 3, pages 93-105 (8th edition 1974). (All of the documents listed or otherwise identified or referenced anywhere in this document are hereby incorporated in their entireties for all purposes.)
The following documents also concern hair and the components thereof, hair treatment methods, and hair treatment compositions: U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,540,494; 2,719,104; 2,776,668; 3,215,605; 3,266,994; 3,399,683; 3,415,606; 3,567,355; 3,865,930; 3,912,446; 3,957,065; 3,966,397; 4,149,848; 4,173,453; 4,186,188; 4,494,557; 4,566,875; 4,658,839; 4,793,992; 4,840,791; 4,906,461; 4,947,878; 5,015,470; 5,034,226; 5,051,252; 5,101,841; 5,139,772; 5,241,973; 5,338,540; EP 0 083 095; EP 0 443 356; DE 2 028 818; DE 4 211 451; DE 4 331 136; U.K. 2,153,865; Japan 60-100512; Croda Inc., Product List, pages 1, 7, 8 (April 1990); Croda Inc., HYDROTRITICUM 2000 Data Sheet, 2 pages (May 2, 1994); Croda Inc., HYDROSOY 2000/SF Data Sheet, 2 pages (Jul. 19, 1984); Croda Inc., CROQUAT WKP Data Sheet, 5 pages (1988); Croda Inc., CROTEIN WKP Data Sheet, 4 pages (Nov. 13, 1981); Prodesign International, "PRO-IONIC QUENCH--PERM RINSE ELIMINATOR," 3 pages (1993/1994); Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, entries for "cysteine," "cystine," and "keratin" (11th ed. 1987); M. S. Balsam (editor), Cosmetics Science And Technology, volume 2, pages 224-229 (second edition 1972); The Merck Index, p. 2773, entry for "cystine" (10th ed. 1983); and Redken advertisement, "CAT.TM. Protein Network System," 1 page (1990).
Some of the same-day combined processes have attempted to make use of the fact that hydrogen peroxide is typically used as the neutralizer in hair waving processes and is also typically used as the developer for oxidative dyeing of the hair. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,630,621. The art has also taught that oxidative dyestuffs cannot be successfully employed with permanent waving compositions in a simultaneous waving/coloring process (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,639 at column 3, lines 5-13).
In addition to the efforts to develop satisfactory same-day waving and coloring processes, both the waving and coloring steps of which involve chemical treatments that tend to damage hair, many attempts have been made to develop compositions that prevent or repair hair damage arising from various causes. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,266,994; 4,186,188; 4,494,557; 4,658,839; 4,793,992; 4,906,461; 5,015,470; 5,051,252; U.K. 2,153,865; and EP 0 443 356.
Some hair treating compositions include salts (e.g., salts of polyvalent metals); see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,266,994; 5,051,252; and U.K. 2,153,865. Some hair treating compositions include proteins or polypeptides or amino acids (e.g., keratin, which is an important constituent of hair, nails, wool, and feathers, or low molecular weight protein fragments such as hydrolyzed protein, or amino acids such as cystine and cysteine, the first of which is a constituent of the keratin in the hair and the second of which results from the cleavage of cystine); see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,186,188; 4,494,557; 4,658,839; 4,793,992; and EP 0 443 356. Some hair treating compositions use proteinaceous material and salt. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,494,557. Some hair treating compositions include acids (e.g., mineral acids or carboxylic acids such as citric acid); see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,266,994; 4,793,992; 4,906,461; and 5,015,470. Some hair treating compositions use all three types of materials, namely, salts of polyvalent metals, proteins or polypeptides or amino acids, and mineral or carboxylic acids; see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,793,992 and 4,906,461.
Proteins said to be useful in hair treatment by their purveyor, Croda Inc., include HYDROTRITICUM 2000 (hydrolyzed whole wheat protein, which has an average molecular weight of 3,000, is available as a 20% solution, contains 1.8% cystine, and is said typically to be used at a 1-5% level) and other HYDROTRITICUM preparations, HYDROSOY 2000/SF (hydrolyzed soy protein solution, which has an average molecular weight of about 4,000, is available as a 20% solution, contains 1.0% cystine, and is said typically to be used at a 0.2-3% level), KERASOL (a soluble keratin preparation, which has an average molecular weight of about 125,000), CROQUAT WKP (hydrolyzed animal-based keratin, which has an average molecular weight of about 1,000, is available as a 30% solution, contains about 10.2% cystine, and is said typically to be used at a 0.25-2% level) and other CROQUAT preparations, CROTEIN WKP (hydrolyzed animal-based wool-based! protein, which has an average molecular weight of about 600, is available as a 22% solution, contains about 10.2% cystine, and is said typically to be used at a 0.2-3% level) and other CROTEIN preparations, and CROSILQUAT (cocodimonium silk amino acids, which has an average molecular weight of 320, is available as a 30% solution, contains 0.2% methionine, and contains 0.1% cystine). The presence of cystine in some of these materials is said by Croda to be particularly desirable because, among other reasons, the cystine can permanently bind to the hair under certain conditions and can minimize the loss of cystine from the keratin of the hair during waving.
Despite the many attempts to satisfy the long-standing demand for a same-day waving/coloring process, the need remains for such a process that does not unacceptably damage the hair and that allows the waving and coloring to be conducted during a single twenty-four hour period and preferably during a single visit to the hair salon (which typically lasts not more than about six hours). It would also be desirable if the same-day process were rinse-free (i.e., if rinsing between application of the waving/reducing agent and development of the color were not needed) so as to reduce the total number of rinses needed and avoid the harmful effects of rinsing. It would also be desirable if the process imparted improved shape retention, color receptivity, color stability, color retention, color evenness, color depth, shine, strength, softness, luster, and elasticity to the hair.